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Why Your Resume Must Have Your Contact Information

I used to work at a nursing home. One day, everything that could possibly go wrong went wrong. The State showed up for a surprise inspection (which we passed with flying colors). The grandchildren of a resident who had passed away filed a suit for abuse and neglect. (It was thrown out. We proved that they had never visited their grandmother during the years that she had been at the home and did not know what they were talking about.) And a grant we had applied for was rejected.

I made the comment to one of the nurses that there must be a full moon. It was a “we should have stayed in bed” kind of day. Her reaction was, “We don’t talk about full moons. There is actually something to it. Don’t mess with Mother Nature.” And she was serious.

This has been a week – and it’s only Wednesday! – when I have been thinking about full moons. Happily, I received a number of new searches (any IT and/or finance auditors looking for work?) and a corresponding plethora of resumes. What absolutely shocked me was that ten percent of the resumes I received or already had in my database lacked basic contact information. And, no disrespect intended, I’m talking about individuals who are well-educated.

Let’s ignore the person who sent me in his/her, I don’t know, resume without a cover letter, from a silly e-mail address and without a name, address, or phone number. Rejected!

About half of the resumes that lacked contact information lacked an e-mail address. I know what you’re thinking, they were e-mailed so I obviously have the e-mail address. Guess what, I don’t keep the e-mails, only the resumes. So if I received the e-mail sometime ago – even yesterday – I won’t have anything but the resume. No e-mail address on the resume, no way to e-mail the candidate.

And that can be a problem if the only phone number is a home phone and the person has moved. So, in addition to an e-mail address, you need to have a cell phone number and a home phone number, if you have one.

You can, of course, include your office number. But here’s the thing: If you include your office number that means I can call you at work. Do you really want a recruiter leaving you a message at work about a possible job? Now with me you don’t have to worry. My message will be, “Joe. I am working on an auditing project for one of my clients and would appreciate it if you could give me a call.” I’ll leave my name and number. I won’t say that I’m a recruiter. But some recruiters will leave a different type of message, “Joe. I’m a recruiter. I’m working on a search for an auditor and wanted to know if you might be interested in learning about the position. Call me.”

And one more thing: I know that many people (rightly) don’t want to give out their home address. But an employer needs to know where you are located because they may not be interested in relocating a candidate or knowledge of the local community may be a qualification for the position. So, at a minimum, include you city and state or residence.